A Bending of a Different Sort
by Xinda
Summary: A body switch that was inspired by Chapter 2: Book 18 and prior to the following episodes. Need I say more? Ah yes, fair warning. There is hinted Zutara and Kataang. You have been warned.


**Authors Note**: This was the first thing I've wrote for Avatar: The Last Airbender that wasn't just a short drabble. Evilhanyou**(at)**livejournal beta'd it for me and I deeply appreciate the help that was given to me. This has a possibility of more than one pairing - namely Zuko/Katara (aka Zutara) and Katara/Aang (aka Kataang). This was inspired after watching Book 2: Chapter 18 and was finished prior to the Book 2: Chapter 19.

Enjoy!

* * *

A Bending of a Different Sort

He wasn't sure how it happened or why - or better yet _when _it happened, but there he was staring face-to-face with that flying bison. _The_ flying bison known as Appa; one whom was none too pleasant to see the bald-headed boy. He growled and snarled at the other, confusing (and waking) the two females - the male was already practicing near the water with his own weapon.

"What is it, Appa?" Katara asked as she tiredly approached the two with a puzzled expression; looking from Aang to Appa, she couldn't explain why the bison was growling and why the Avatar had such a surprised (and slightly scared) expression. 

"Aang? What's going on," came Sokka; he, too, couldn't explain the situation at hand. Baffled, he scratched at the back of his head with the boomerang he had been practicing with before putting it away and waiting for an answer.

Toes digging into the ground, Toph tilted her head in the direction of Appa, but stayed sitting where she was at. She heard - and felt - how Appa was feeling, but didn't feel - or find - a reason to approach the gang.

"_Earth to Aang_," Sokka stated as he waved his hand in front of the other's face.

Still staring at a pair of giant eyes, it took a moment for the bald-headed boy to look at Sokka. This only led further to his surprise, but a moment later he took a defensive stance as he hopped back and prepared to use his bending on the others. Not because he wanted to fight them, but because he needed an explanation for why _he_ was _there_.

-- 

Kneeling, Iroh took a sip of his tea and then exhaled. Pleased with his sampled brew, he looked over at his nephew and sighed. The other had been sleeping for quite some time now, but he knew that he needed it. The teen had over-worked himself again and hadn't been sleeping well; the elderly man had heard the other whimpering - almost crying - in his sleep. It wasn't just about his throne or the desire to regain his honour anymore, but about his mother. The more the days passed, the more the Prince wanted to be with his mother. To be in her arms once again and feel that caring and tender embarass that only she could give him.

With a groan, the teen stirred and slowly sat up. Yawning, he blinked down at the blanket that covered him and then over to the other man.

Why was _he _there? Not that he had anything against him, really, but why?

What happened to him to bring him into this situation? 

The male was able to stay calm up until the point when he went to rub the back of his head and he felt something _soft_ against his hand. Eyes wide, he moved his hand up and down to note that: yes, it was a part of his head and yes, it was hair.

Iroh watched the other and arched a brow, concentrated. He remained silent as he examined what looked like his nephew, but felt (and knew) he wasn't. 

Moving to all fours, the teen crawled quickly over to the closest thing that looked like it would hold his reflection.

Iroh's cup of tea.

Looking into the glass at the dark liquid, after stuttering out an, "I need to borrow this...", his eyes widened further and a single hand reached to the left side of his face.

A moment later the tea was on the floor and the sound of breaking glass broke the silence.

"You do not know what happened, do you?" Iroh tried to speak calmly, though the fact that Zuko was gone and that good tea had just gone too waste was obvious in his tone. This was strange and that was _good_ tea. A moment later, he demanded, "Who are you?"

He had a feeling it was someone familiar and not to be threatened by, but that didn't mean he was to let his guard down. If necessary, he was ready to leap up and take the offensive. Of course, it would be difficult to do so and _not_ injure his nephew's body.

"Aang," was all that was said, as the teen stared down at the body he was in. It was more than strange to hear another's voice speaking the words he thought. 

"I see." Iroh re-worded his question, "Do you know how this happened?"

Aang shook his head slowly and blinked up at the elder man.

A short pause was immediately followed by, "The others!" He stood up and was in a rush to leave, but was stopped with Iroh holding him back by the wrist.

Shaking his head once, he stated, "Zuko will not hurt them in your body. There is no reason to do so and remember, he does not know any other bending but firebending." The first thing he had to make clear was to defend his nephew. Despite everything, his Zuko was trying to change and discover himself. There was no reason to go against that through hurting Aang's friends. Now that defending his nephew was done (or so he figured as Aang relaxed slightly and let out a long sigh - he felt he could trust Iroh in that aspect), he turned to the next issue. "Also, you are in my nephew's body. You do not have the same abilities that you do as the Avatar." As for firebending, it didn't seem like Aang had mastered it yet, but he wasn't certain so he said nothing of that issue.

Swallowing, Aang nodded and slowly sat down. The other had a point. He could not use his airbending to make his journey quicker to meet up with his friends and make sure they were okay and find out why he was not in his own body; hopefully that _did _mean that Zuko was in his. Better than body-switching between more than two people, right? That would make it even more difficult to find out where _his_ body was at. Letting out a sigh, he asked where they were and found out that it meant that his friends were nearby!

As if he needed it to think (or had other reasons), Iroh poured two cups of tea and handed one cup to Aang, and took a drink from the other. Letting out a breath, he stated, "We will have to find out how this happened, and how to return your souls to your bodies. Do you remember anything that happened prior to this?" 

Aang reluctantly took the cup and blinked down at it. Another blink and he took a sip of it, almost overly cautious. Then he beamed, "This is good!"

--

Zuko took a few steps backwards as Appa approached him and, within seconds, found himself tumbling backwards over a giant stone that had been bended upwards to prevent the Prince from bumping into Toph, whom had felt him approaching and didn't feel like actually getting up.

Puzzled, Katara approached him and reached out a hand to help him up while Sokka tried to get Appa to back up some - which was a task in and of itself. "What's wrong, Aang?" she asked as she watched the other lie there.

Reluctantly, he reached up and took her hands only to sit down on the stone that he had tumbled backwards on. He closed his eyes and ignored the question.

This didn't make sense. This was a dream. A very _strange_ dream.

Sighing, he slowly opened his eyes and saw Katara staring at him, concerned and waiting for an answer. "Aang... are you sick? You don't look too good..." She reached up to place her hand on his forehead, and he pulled back, finding himself once again on his back on the ground. 

"Hey! Aang! Make Appa stop!" Sokka shouted from where he was standing in front of Appa--who was no longer trying to reach the bald-headed boy, but nudging at Sokka as if he wanted him to understand what he was trying to point out.

Scooting backwards, Zuko looked over at the water and slowly crawled over to it.

Then, it happened.

Loud and surprised, "WHAT HAPPENED!?"

His hands were on his head and he was turning his head from side to side.

He knew it felt wrong and now he knew why.

Reaching out for Aang's shoulder, Katara found her hand stopped by the other's hand wrapped around her wrist, then quickly both wrists were held and he was pulling her towards him while shouting, "What happened!? Tell me what happened!?" Zuko was torn between demanding and panic which was obvious in his voice and expression.

This was too different for him and too easy to not be explained.

Looking at the pale fingers around her wrists, she had a moment of the oh-too-familiar-feeling and quickly shook it off. "What's wrong, Aang? What do you mean, what happened?" This didn't feel right to the waterbender and this didn't feel like the Aang she's been with.

Though, it didn't take long by that point for Sokka to approach them and demand, "Let go of her and stop shouting at my sister."

Zuko-Aang ignored the bendingless boy and concentrated on Katara, which was beginning to be strange when he noted the height difference between the them.

A faint blush touched his cheeks, and he let go, turning his back to her. Staring at the water, he repeated, "What happened."

One hand rubbed at her other wrist, not in pain but in confusion as she softly replied, "You tell us."

"Why am I..." He paused and took note that there were many pairs of eyes and ears paying attention to him. "I need to go."

With that, he took off leaving the others behind.

They took note, though, the method he used. Not Aang's method. Not their Aang...

------------------------------------

"...what's up with Aang?" Sokka stood behind his sister, but his attention was in the direction that the Avatar had took. First, he was being growled at by Appa. Next, he was being forceful with Katara. Now, he was gone. 

Katara shook her head, eyes drifting from where Aang had been to the ground. "I'm not sure, but... I don't think that was Aang."

"Wait. How could it _not_ be Aang. I mean, sure he wasn't acting like himself and Appa didn't seem so pleased with him, but _how _could it not be Aang? He wasn't all glow-ey, but you don't think it had something to -"

"No, Sokka. I think Katara's right. Appa seemed to be torn - he seemed hesitant to do anything. If Aang was simply going through something related to the Avatar, I don't think Appa would have acted that way." Finally standing, Toph made her way towards Katara and stood beside her. Her head was lowered as she continued, "Something's wrong." 

Bringing her attention to Toph, Katara sighed, "Yes, something is very wrong. That _looked_ like Aang, but it wasn't. I know Aang can get angry to certain levels, but..."

"Well then, whoever it is, we need to go after him. If that's not Aang, then we need to find the real one. Now," Sokka said, as he climbed on top of Appa, tone serious as it often took when he knew things had to get done. When he _knew _it was time.

The only words Katara could offer as she and Toph made their way up to join her brother were, "You're right." 

"Appa, let's go find Aang. Yip Yip!"

---

A few cups of tea later and Aang and Iroh still had not progressed much in discovering why his nephew and the Avatar were no longer in their correct bodies. From dreams to symbolism to desires and wishes, there was still no answer.

They drank more tea and spent some time talking of other things; things that were only to try to relax the both of them so that they could start fresh. There may have been something they missed. Maybe even something obvious.

"It will be difficult to reverse the effects if we do not know the cause."

"I know, but there has to be a way, right?" By this point the young monk had finally got used to the voice that came from his lips.

"If there was a way in, there must be a way out."

"I hope so... I... I want my body back and I want to be back with.. my friends."

Iroh arched an eyebrow at the young male and thoughtfully stroked his beard. "Are there any fights that you and your friends have had recently?"

"Nothing out of the usual, no."

"Any things that you have done recently with them that have gone unfinished?"

"...well, not out of the usual, no..."

"No interruptions that led to any frustration?"

"... no... well... _maybe_... "

"What is it?" 

"You see... I... I wanted to tell someone something for a long time and every time I try to, I get interrupted. I had my chance, again, but... again it was interrupted. But, I guess that's not out of the usual either, then," Aang replied with a nervous laughter that was followed by a heavy sigh.

"Hmm. Who interrupted you this time?"

"_Zuko_," he somewhat bitterly answered.

"You were highly frustrated with my nephew then - more than when he tried to capture you?" The prince that had finally got on terms with Aang and the gang after some words from his uncle, of course. 

"...well, I guess. Maybe. It's just that I've been trying to get this out for a while and this time it was Zuko who interrupted me!" Of all people to bother him, it had to be _him_.

Iroh sighed, "What happened when he interrupted you?" It was far-fetched that this would have something to do with the switch since Zuko came home the night before in a fairly decent mood, leading the elder man to believe that either nothing happened between the two or Zuko had 'won'. 

Aang rubbed at the back of his head and immediately pulled his hands to his lap; the fact that he had hair still surprised him. "Nothing between us... nothing really, at least." Honestly, Aang didn't see the point in repeating the would-be embarrassing moment between the two.

"If that is the only unusual thing that has happened, then it needs to be known. That could be the cure to what has happened between you and my nephew."

Aang opened his mouth to speak, but found it silenced with the door being slammed open and a loud, "GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!" following -- or as loud as the body of a twelve-year-old boy could produce.

---

Though her body posture was determined and eyes searched through the dark woods for her friend, her eyes held something other than that fierce determination. There was worry, concern and confusion hidden in them; hidden as she was in the front and leaning out on Appa. Many times Sokka had reached out to her, but she only would shake her head slowly. Unsure of how to answer any of his questions and, more importantly, not wanting her big brother to worry.

Momo had remained curled up next to Toph, whom had been fairly quiet during their search. In the beginning, she had suggested she go by foot to cover more ground, but Sokka gave a few reasons for her not to; Katara's uncharacteristic silence at their debate silenced them both.

Hearing something, Momo's ears perked up and immediately he moved to sit beside Katara spitting out chirps and sounds for her to understand. Finally, he nudged her and sped up to the front of Appa's head and raised his arms up and then down. Appa gave a sound of recognition and, as the water bender looked down in the direction the flying lemur motioned at, he made his way to land.

"_Aang_...," Katara's voice was whispered as she saw a glimpse of the Avatar's clothing - or the person in her friend's body.

Hand resting on Katara's shoulder, Sokka stated, "We'll find out what's going on." 

A smile was offered, but forced, "I know we will."

This wasn't like any situation they've dealt with before, so it made it more difficult to figure out i how /i they would...

Landing, Katara was first off of the bison and running towards the open door that the bald-headed boy was running into.

"GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!" were the first words she heard as she stood behind the Avatar and saw over his head to see Iroh and Zuko.

------------------------------------

Wide-eyed and surprised, blue eyes went from Zuko to Aang and back again. Behind her, Sokka and Toph heard the same words and stood there surprised. 

Climbing off of Toph's shoulder, Momo skittered off to Aang's body and sniffed the feet before sneezing and running to curl up on Zuko's lap. He looked up and tittered off a few noises before burying his head, closing his eyes and seemingly going to sleep.

The minor interruption didn't bring Zuko to budge from his place, but it did bring him to remain silent for a moment. There was a flying lemur curled up on the lap of his body and the Avatar's friends were standing behind him.

Calmly, Aang replied, "First, I didn't take it. Secondly, I don't know how to switch us back."

At least the answer of what had happened was confirmed; it was a simple body switch. Not _how _it happened, but that there were no other souls missing in action. Iroh remained seated and stated, "Of course, there may be a way to do so."

Aang glanced up at Katara's expression and immediately looked away, a blush forming on his face. Looking up at Iroh, he asked, "Shouldn't you ask him the same questions you asked me? This could be his fault." 

"This is _not _my fault! Why would I want to have your body?"

"For my abilities." 

Not wanting to admit that he wasn't quite sure _how_ to use them (yet), Zuko retorted, "I'd rather have my own body to do that."

Slowly walking pass Aang's body, Katara knelt down in front of Zuko's. "Aang?" 

Looking up at Katara and then away, Aang nodded, "Yeah. It's me."

Immediately hugging him, Katara replied, "You're okay..." She was worried. Worried for more than one reason, but the confirmation that her friend was okay helped. A lot.

Blushing further, Aang nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay. Well... mostly."

Katara pulled back and looked at Iroh, "You're not sure how this happened, then?"

"Not entirely. i spoke with him over a few cups of tea to try to discover what it is that could have caused this. Would you like some?" Turning from Katara to the rest of the gang, Iroh smiled and raised his glass. It was a serious matter, yes, but he really wanted his nephew to calm down before causing any unnecessary arguments. He didn't want anything to disturb the chances of bringing the souls back to their bodies, and with the temper his nephew sometimes showed, there was that possibility.

Toph was the only one who accepted after immediately recognizing the voice of the man. She remembered him and this time had no issues with him pouring her a cup instead of allowing her to do so.

"Okay. Wait. You mean the two switched bodies? That's why Appa acted that way!?" Sokka chimed in with sudden acknowledgement of the situation. Normally, he was brighter than that, but this was something that he had never handled before. "Right. So, think Azula had something to do with this?"

"No. I have not seen her in quite some time and I do not think she would do this," Iroh replied.

"Not even to make sure Zuko and Aang were in the same place?" Sokka asked.

"I don't think so. While she might like the idea of humiliating those she does not like, i do not think this is how she would go about doing it.I also do not think she knows how to do something like this."

Pulling his legs to his chest, Aang muttered, "Aren't you going to ask him the same questions you asked me?" Mouth muffled behind his knees, Aang looked up at Iroh and furrowed his (would-be) brows with frustration. They could figure out who did this after they got their bodies back.

Katara looked at Aang and attempted to muffle her laughter, but ended up having to cover her mouth to do so.

"What's so funny?" Aang arched his eyebrow and frowned at his friend.

"Oh, it's nothing," Katara replied waving her hand off.

Sokka tilted his head at Aang and after a few moments started laughing, "Y'know, Aang. With you in Zuko's body and sulking like that? It's... funny."

Maybe they just needed the humour for something like this to amuse them, or maybe the sight was just that amusing. Either way, the siblings were laughing and Zuko was not.

Arms crossed and head turned away, Zuko snorted at the mockery of his body and interrupted with, "Uncle, what is he talking about?" Back to the subject at hand.

With a brief chuckle, Iroh turned to Zuko and replied, "I will ask you a series of questions to try to discover what has caused this so that we may reverse it."

"Okay."

"Is there anything different that you did last night that you don't normally do?"

"No."

"There's nothing that happened out of the normal?"

"No."

Turning to Aang, Iroh stated, "I think that it is time for you to tell me what you were going to tell me."

Aang opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Katara, "If it's going to help, Aang... maybe you should."

"If you know what caused this, tell him," Zuko added. His tone was i almost /i desperate despite the demanding overtone it took.

Aang sighed and Momo looked up as if to encourage the boy to do so.

A long sigh left the prince's lips and Aang lowered his head some. Tilting it to the side, he continued, "After that, I went after him and went to confront him for nearly catching me on fire... He _could _of hit Katara... When I confronted him, Katara... she came and calmed me down and I went to bed."

Seeing how that sounded incomplete, Iroh took another drink and calmly stated, "Katara, would you explain to me what happened last night?" 

Uncertain as to how that would help, she nodded and kept her attention on Iroh as she spoke despite the fact that her brother was muttering about long stories and getting this fixed so that they could actually relax before they had to get back to business.

"Last night... Aang came to me and told me he had something to tell me, but before he could a blast of fire went just over his head and surprised the both of us. Aang ran off to what it was -- Zuko -- and I followed behind. By the time I got there, Aang was shouting at him and it seemed like Zuko was ... trying to explain himself... I tried to calm Aang down, but he told me that he needed sleep. So, he went to bed and Zuko explained to me what had happened and ... apologized before also going to bed..."

"Hmmm. Nephew? I would like to hear the rest of it."

Finally uncrossing his arms and sitting on the floor, ignoring the looks Aang gave him - it was far too strange to see those looks from his body - Zuko took a deep breath. "I was practicing some new firebending moves and their bison... Appa... came out for... I guess some water. After a while, I went to get back to my practicing and when I did, it seemed to panic and when it did, it sent ... it sent my blast in another direction. When _he _started shouting at me, he started going on about my interrupting things, causing trouble and trying to hurt him or ... Katara." It was still a bit strange to speak of them so familiar, but he had to get on with this story.

Looking away for a moment, he took a deep breath before turning back to his uncle and continuing, "I told him that I wasn't trying to hurt any of them and I didn't know what he was talking about, but he just kept shouting at me until Katara came to calm him. He took off and... Katara asked me what had happened. So, I told her. Then, I went to bed." 

Iroh arched a brow at the abrupt closure of his side of the story and turned to the three of them. "Aang, are you certain that you did not wish for something or mutter any sort of curses about Zuko?"

"Of course not!" There was a pause and then Aang lowered his head. "...maybe... I ... I said something, but I don't remember what. I was too angry."

"Aang..." Katara reached her hand up and placed it on his shoulder, seeing through the body of Zuko to see her friend. "Zuko wasn't trying to hurt us. Appa doesn't do well around fire and we should have explained that to Zuko..."

Snorting, Aang buried his face in his arms and muttered something under his breath about Katara siding with Zuko.

Blue eyes went wide and exchanged with the male behind her - Zuko, whom immediately turned away and snorted, "She's not siding with me, she's telling the truth."

"He's jealous," Toph said softly - loud enough for Sokka and Iroh to hear, as they were right beside her, but not the other three.

Sokka's fist met the palm of his hand in an act of realization, but said nothing about what Toph said. Instead he stated, "Well. If Aang _did_ say something, maybe he should just wish really hard for the opposite?"

"He doesn't remember, Sokka," Toph said blandly. 

"Right. Well... maybe if he just got to do what he was doing, then he wouldn't need to be angry anymore?" It was a sort of cheap remark from Sokka, but with something like this anything was possible.

--

_"Katara... there's something I'd like to tell you."_

_ "Yes? What is it, Aang?"_

_ Before Aang could reply a blast of fire shot just over his head and caused the boy to turn immediately to Katara. Once it was established that the waterbender was okay, he ran towards the direction that the attack had come from._

_ "**You**!"_

_ Alarmed, Zuko looked up with both hands on Appa's nose, attempting to calm the bison from charging at him or anything for that matter. He had rescued him once, but that didn't mean he was an expert on him._

_ "Get away from Appa!"_

_ Surprised by the outburst, Zuko stood there and half-shouted, half-asked, "What's wrong with you?"_

_ "You attacked me!"_

_ "What!? No I didn't!" Upon realizing his flame had gone astray, he continued, "I wasn't trying to attack **anyone**! I was training when your bison freaked out and caused me to lose my balance!"_

_ "Liar!" About ready to storm at Zuko, Aang was stopped with Katara shouting out his name. "Aang, what is it?"_

_ "Him! Zuko! He attacked us!"_

_ "No _I_ didn't! Your bison made me lose my balance while I was training!"_

_ "Aang... calm down. If he was going to attack us, do you think he would have only shot one shot? At least hear him out, he's no longer our enemy." It wasn't that Katara was siding with Zuko, but just that she wanted to keep the peace between the two. They had been through so much and now were at a level that they could stand up for each other. There was no reason to go back on what they had worked hard on._

_ "Fine. I'm... I'm going to bed."_

_ "Aang..." Katara sighed, "Good-night, Aang..."_

_ Katara watched Aang walk away and sighed. Turning to Zuko, she stated, "Don't be angry with him. He means well, but he's been through so much and he's so young." Looking over at Zuko, she continued, "I... I'm sure you understand in a sense what he's gone through in such a short period - and at such a young age..."_

_ The word 'young' repeated twice and had no hard feelings while using them, but Aang caught those words and they burned. Was being young that bad? He was doing a lot at a young age, shouldn't that be something to be proud of? He was frustrated and was possibly taking things the wrong way, but at that moment he didn't think so. At that moment he could only see the way Katara was speaking to Zuko._

_ More importantly, he could hear out the muttered apology that he gave and the way they seemed to stare at each other in silence after Katara told him that it was okay. That it would be okay._

_ The jealousy flared up and he took off to bed muttering words that came out too easily. Words that he wouldn't remember if he was asked second later, let alone hours later..._

---

Aang looked up at Katara and found himself blushing again, so he buried his head for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and reached his hand out towards Katara, "I need to talk to you."

Katara blinked and it took a moment to register Aang as Aang and not Zuko. She had been doing well up until that direct acknowledgement. She looked back at Zuko and then to Aang. Reaching her hand out, she stood up with his help and nodded.

While the two went outside, Zuko watched them and felt the urge to follow. "If... if he does fix this, then shouldn't i be with them? So i at least know where I'll end up?"

Even though he seemed to be asking it, he found himself following the two to the door and staring from just outside to where they stood. He could hear them and it seemed like Aang didn't mind who heard; he simply wanted to be in the same environment that he had been in the night before.

"This may cause other problems," Toph stated, but didn't elaborate on it.

"How? Zuko will have his body. Aang will have his. We can all go enjoy the rest of the day and relax before something bad happens," Sokka stated as he reached out for the bowl of nuts that sat next to the teapot.

Iroh said nothing; he knew what Toph was talking about, but chose not to interrupt the boy's thoughts. This was part of Zuko's growth and discovering himself and it had to be done; he just hoped that the prince would still allow him to help along the way.

Outside, Aang shuffled his feet and then looked down at Katara. Noticing the difference in height, he swallowed and licked over his lips. "Katara... there's something I've been wanting to tell you. I've.. been wanting to tell you this for a while..."

"What is it, Aang?"

Looking down at the ground, he dug his foot into the ground as he said, "When we were stuck in that cave and you suggested us kissing... It wasn't that I didn't... I didn't want to. It was when I thought you were just joking, so... I played along. I... I didn't mean to offend you..."

"Aang, that was okay. I'm not upset about what you said..."

"No, Katara, please let me finish. That's not it." He looked up at Katara and looked into her eyes for a few moments of silence before continuing, "I've liked you... for a while. I... Every time I try to tell you how I feel, I don't get to and I ... I think you should know, because I want you to know. I... I've wanted us to kiss that day, but we didn't get to..."

Staring at her, he licked over his lips and swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly leaned forward to kiss her; slow enough so that she could stop him if she wanted. At this moment, it was _him _wanting to kiss Katara. _Him _letting his feelings be known. Not the fact that it would be Zuko's lips, but his own. Though, he hoped she wouldn't and those short few seconds felt like minutes turning hours.

Katara's eyes were wide for a moment at his blushing confession and she felt her face redden. Aang was telling her this. Yet, in the same thought, it was Zuko's voice. Zuko's voice and Aang's words. She could see Zuko closing in on her before she saw the transparency of Aang. Just before her eyes closed to receive the kiss - knowing she didn't _not _want it, but her own feelings not completely certain - she could see both Zuko and Aang.

The kiss was gentle and felt sincere and pure. 

When the kiss broke the two looked at each other for a few moments of silence before she saw that behind Zuko stood a wide-eyed Aang. A wide-eyed Aang who's expression softened upon noting that Katara had accepted his offer. While she did not say that she liked him in return, she did not say that she _didn't_ like him and that gave the Avatar hope. That and the fact that she hadn't pulled away or pushed him away.

She took a step back upon noting that this _was _Zuko. She felt it was. She knew it was. For her, she knew something had been off in the beginning and now she felt that it was right. Or, at least, their souls were right.

Zuko watched her silently and opened his mouth to say something - anything - but instead chose otherwise. There were no words for what had happened and the soft tint of red that touched his cheeks were more than enough for him. 

Approaching the two, Aang stated, "Thank you, Katara."

She shifted slightly in a sign for Zuko not to leave when she saw him move to do so, then turned to Aang and while still blushing leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "Thank you for telling me and for being mature enough to do so."

From the doorway, Sokka shrugged and went back in for more nuts as he muttered out, "I don't get it."

Iroh took a deep breath in and smiled. So far, the three were all being mature about it. For now, there would be no problems. He hoped it would last for a while. He also hoped that when the girl made her decision that the three would continue to be mature about it.

One could hope, right?

But, for now, there was more tea to drink while the younger ones enjoyed themselves.

You only live once, after all - or, at least, most people do.


End file.
